Volusia spelling wizard knows his l-e-x-i-c-o-l-o-g-y

Two middle school boys who love to read fought a war of words Thursday at the annual Volusia County Spelling Bee, with Hamish Pierpont of Creekside Middle ending up the victor.

LINDA TRIMBLEEDUCATION WRITER

PORT ORANGE — Two middle school boys who love to read fought a war of words Thursday at the annual Volusia County Spelling Bee, with Hamish Pierpont of Creekside Middle ending up the victor. The look on his face as Hamish heard the word he'd have to spell for the championship – lexicology – said everything. He confidently rattled off the correct spelling of the word that means the study of the formation, meaning and use of words without hesitation. "I do read a lot," Hamish said when asked the secret of his spelling success. His mom, Zoe, said the Port Orange teen has been reading since he was 2. He finished five Harry Potter books by the end of first grade, consuming three of them during the summer between kindergarten and first grade. "He's always been a super speller," said his mother, a language arts teacher at Creekside Middle. The runner-up in the Volusia spelling bee, Marshall Argenbright of New Smyrna Beach Middle, is also an avid reader. His taste runs to news stories about politics and he's also a whiz at the game show "Jeopardy," which his family watches together every night. Marshall came in second after misspelling "provender" — which means a stock of needed materials or supplies, especially food – in Thursday's bee. He obviously wasn't familiar with the word, asking pronouncer Holly Ward to repeat it five times, define it and tell him the language from which it originated before he gave it his best shot. Those techniques were popular with many of the 38 competitors from public and private schools in Volusia County, especially when they heard a word they didn't recognize right away. One girl rolled her eyes and sighed over the word "obituary," asking Ward to repeat it and define it before giving it a try.Another girl closed her eyes to visualize the word "efficient" before trying to spell it, while some of the contestants used their index fingers to spell out words on their arms. Kayla Umpierre of Citrus Grove Elementary in DeLand broke into a grin that she quickly covered with her hands when she returned to her seat after spelling "apostate" in an early round. And Kennedie Howard of Osceola Elementary in Ormond Beach won extra applause from the audience at Port Orange Elementary as she curtsied at the edge of the stage after being eliminated from competition. Hamish and Marshall, both 14 and in the eighth grade, will represent Volusia County in the district spelling bee in Orlando in late March. The winner of that event will advance to the national spelling bee in Washington in May. "I'm pumped," Hamish said of the chance to move on to the next level of competition.